168 Hours

I won’t blog/ramble too long about this, but I wanted to share a great blog and interview that I read this week. I’m a busy guy, running all over the place to do a lot of different things. But one thing always sticks in my mind when I’m ready to make an excuse for not having enough time. My roommate and good friend, Matt, once told me in college: “It’s not that you don’t have time, it’s that you chose to do something else instead.” 10 years later, those words still ring in my head every time I hear someone say those words, let alone think them myself. This blog and interview expounded on those thoughts. Very timely for me, personally, given my schedule. However, many parents and even some students (!) are just as busy and might enjoy the read. Hope it’s useful!

Q: Is there anything that you see people around you doing or saying that adds a lot to their happiness, or detracts a lot from their happiness?
A: I wish people wouldn’t say “I don’t have time to do X, Y or Z.” Instead, we should say “I won’t do X, Y or Z because it’s not a priority.” Often, that is a perfectly adequate explanation. I could tell you I’m not going to sew Halloween costumes for my kids because I don’t have time, but that’s not true. If you offered to pay me enough, I’d probably do it! Since that’s not going to happen, I can acknowledge that I just don’t think it’s as good a use of my time as working, playing with my kids, sleeping, or reading magazines (see above). But that’s a little harder to say about other things – “I’m not going to read to you tonight, sweetie, because it’s not a priority.” Blaming a lack of time takes power out of our hands. Owning up to our choices ultimately makes us happier – because we can see that if we don’t like our choices, we have the power to change them (emphasis mine).